Georgia Appeals Court Reverses HIV-Positive Man’s Conviction for Exposing Sexual Partner to HIV
On October 27, a panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of X for reckless conduct by an HIV-infected person in X v. State, 2017 Ga. App. LEXIS 524, 2017 WL 4900563. The panel of three judges found that the state had failed to produce any evidence to support the crime’s most essential element – that X was an “HIV-infected person” with a “confirmed positive HIV test,” as defined by the statute, OCGA. § 31-22-9.1(a)(5), (11).
Appellant, 29-year-old X, met 43-year-old S.F. when he went to her home to visit her grandson. After several encounters, the two engaged in consensual sexual intercourse. S.F. insisted that X use a condom, but during intercourse she noticed that he was no longer wearing the condom. S.F. ended intercourse and confronted X about removing the condom. X then apologized and told her, “I am HIV positive. I just carry the virus.”
